The present invention relates to a stabilizer coupling for use in a roll stabilizer for a motor vehicle.
The following discussion of related art is provided to assist the reader in understanding the advantages of the invention, and is not to be construed as an admission that this related art is prior art to this invention.
Stabilizers for roll stabilizing of motor vehicles are known in the art. These stabilizers are typically constructed as torsion components. One side of the stabilizer is coupled with the left wheel of the motor vehicle, whereas the other side of the stabilizer is coupled with the right wheel of a motor vehicle axle. If one wheel is deflected or rebounds, then this causes the stabilizer to twist.
The stabilizer maintains the rolling behavior of a motor vehicle in uncritical regions. Different driving characteristics can be generated or promoted, or alternatively suppressed, depending on the stabilizer design. For example, a particularly hard adjustment is indicated for a sporty driving characteristic, which significantly minimizes the rolling behavior and distributes the wheel load to all wheels for a firm grip. Advantageously, a stabilizer may sometimes be completely deactivated in an all-terrain vehicle, allowing the deflected and rebounding wheels to adapt to the uneven terrain.
Active stabilizers are known in the art which combine this divergence of the adjustment characteristic of different stabilizer properties in a single stabilizer. These active stabilizers typically include an electrically and/or hydraulically operated actuator which is actively intervenes in the torsion characteristic of the stabilizer. For example, a sports utility vehicle may have a soft stabilizer characteristic in the basic adjustment, allowing uneven roads to be traveled with strong ground contact by all four wheels. However, when a more sporty adjustment is selected, the active actuator motor twists the stabilizer more, which then causes a higher torsion stiffness and reduces the rolling behavior of the vehicle in curves traveled in a sporty dynamic fashion.
Disadvantageously, these active stabilizers systems are difficult to manufacture and are technically complex to operate. In addition, these systems have also a high weight due to the design of the actuators as well as of the sensor system and the control technologies. A system may also develop technical defects during operation affecting their durability.
In addition, semi-active stabilizers are known in the art where elastically coupled stabilizer halves cause different rolling behaviors of the vehicle, depending on the selection by the driver. Frequently, an elastomer or a hydraulic fluid is used for elastic coupling. Because the stabilizer transmits large torques, these components have a high weight, and are typically manufactured as expensive milled components.
It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to obviate prior art shortcomings and to provide an improved semi-active stabilizer which implements a dynamic rolling control and which can be produced more cost-effectively compared to conventional stabilizer arrangements, and which is durable and has a small weight.